Coin-chute fraud preventive.



PATENTED OUT. 4, 1904.

0. J. BUCK. COIN GHUTE FRAUD PREVENTIVE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24, 1903 N0 MODEL.

' Patented October 4, 1304.

PATENT OEEIcE.

ORLANDO J. BUCK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COIN-CHUTE FRAUD PREVENTIVE;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Iatent No. 771,349, dated October4, 1904.

Application filed u y 24,1903.

To all whom, it 771/117] concern.-

Be it known that I, ORLANDO J. BUCK, a citizen of the United States,residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Coin-Chute Fraud Preventives,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of the coin-slots ofcoin-controlled machines, and is designed to prevent a common species offraud by which such machines are operated repeatedly with a single cointo which a thread or other fine filament has been secured, and theinvention is found in the means provided to prevent this species offraud and is fully explained below and also illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which latter Figure 1 is a side elevation,partly in section, of a coin-chute embodying my invent-ion. Fig. 2 is asectional elevation. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section on the line3 3 of Fig. 1.

In said drawings, 5 represents a flat plate forming one side of themajor portion of the chute, and 6 is a cast-metal plate having formedupon it ribs or lateral projections which form the divisions between thecoin-passages and also the bottom and front and rear walls of the chute.Thus the rib 7 forms the floor or bottom of the inclined portion 8 ofthe chute, the vertical rib 9 closes the back edge of the verticalportion 10, the rib 11 forms the back wall of the vertical portion 22,the divisionribs 13, 14, and 15 separate the passage forthe bogus coinfrom those of the genuine coin, and ribs 16 and 17 form the front wallsof portions of the chute. The portions 8 and 10 of the chute alsoreceive a flat plate forming a side wall thereto; but such plate isomitted from the drawings for the sake of clearness. The projection 18supports the flat plates at the top, as will be understood.

The chute is provided with a magnet 19 in the part 8, and just beyondsuch magnet is a vertical passage 20, into which it is supposed that anycoin amenable to the magnet will be diverted, the magnet acting, toretard it, so that it will nothave momentum enough to carry it beyondthe entrance to said passage. From passage 20 the magnetized coin dropsSerial No. 166,790. (No modeh) into passage 21 directly below and isthence conducted to a proper receptacle or to a passage whereby it isreturned to the person inserting it, both ways of disposing of such coinbeing in common use, and the coin being thereby prevented from operatingor being instrumental in operating the machine.

The genuine coin not being affected by the magnet is not deprived of itsmomentum, and consequently leaps over instead of entering the passage 20and finds its way into a second vertical passage 22, located beyondpassage 20 and divided from it by the ribs 13 and 14. At the bottom ofpassage 22 the coin strikes the inclined bounding-block 23 and boundsedgewise from thence over the passage 21 and into a passage 24, whichleads the coin on its way to the operating parts of the machine. As thusfar described the construction is not new with me, and the inventionlies in the improvement now to be described.

It will be noticed that an open space 25 exists between the ribs 13 and14: and that the rib 13 is not only cut away on its outer face -t'. e.

the face toward plate 5 so as to form a narrow passage between it andthe plate, but its upper end is also rounded off, as plainly shown.Opposite the open space 25 a tongue 26 is out in the plate 5 and bentinward into the space 25, the free end of the tongue being its upperend. If now a coin 50, otherwise adapted to operate the machine, buthaving a thread 51 attached to it, is inserted in the slot, it willfollow the usual course past the magnet onto the bounding-block andthence into passage 2 L and beyond, so that it will beenabled,notwithstanding the thread, to operate the machine in the normal way;but in thus finding its Way to the operative parts of the machine itWill be noted that the thread by means of which the person depositingthe coin hopes to cause repeated operations of the machine willnaturally be drawn, by reason of the tension caused by the coin, fromthe top of the magnet down onto the rounded end of division-rib. 13, bywhich it is diverted into the passage between the rib 13 andplate 5 andfrom said passage moves over into the inclined opening between thetongue and the cut edges of the plate formed by the cutting of thetongue. The weight of the coin will have a tendency to wedge the threadafter it thus comes into the tongue-opening and to tighten it therein,so that it will be held and prevent the lifting of the coin for a secondoperation of the machine or at all events cause such an amount offriction on the thread as to insure its breaking before it returns thecoin to operating position. The raw edges of the'tongue and its slit arealso adapted to cut into the thread and gradually reduce its strength ifthey do not sever it at the outset. I find by actual tests that thisspecies of fraud on the machine by means of a thread attached to thecoin can be prevented by my invention.

It Will be noted that the chute shown is adapted to maintain the coin inavertical position at all times in its movement and that thethread-engaging devices are located in the front edge of the passage 22,through which the coin drops by gravity, also that the thread-engagingdevices are stationary instead of movable, so that there is no danger oftheir getting in the way of or obstructing the coin.

I claim- 1. The coin-clmtehavinga vertical passage 22 through which thecoin drops by gravity, an inclined passage through which the coin rollstoward the passage 22 but which is separated from passage 22 by an openspace, and thread-engaging devices in the edge of passage 22 nearest theinclined passage and into which the dropping of the coin through passage22 carries any thread attached to it.

2. The coin-chute having a vertical passage 22 for the coin, and aninclined passage leading toward said vertical passage, an open spacebetween said passages, and means in the portion of said vertical passageopposite the edge of the coin for frictionally engaging a thread drawninto the chute by a coin.

3. The coin-chute having a vertical passage 22 for the coin, and aninclined passage leading toward said vertical passage, an open spacebetween said passages, and friction-exerting devices in the Wall of thevertical passage opposite the edge of the coin into which a threadjoined to a coin Will be drawn by the descent of the coin.

ORLANDO J. BUCK.

WVitnesses:

EDW. S. EvAR'rs, H. M. MUNDAY.

